Corporate Communications Review

The internship had a lot of potential, but unfortunately did not live up to my expectations. I started here, prepared to stay late and work hard and achieve something really worthwhile, but the option to do so was not there and the work was hugely lacking. I needed some work experience for part of my degree and I was really hoping that this internship would fulfil that but unfortunately it was a huge waste of time.

I was valued in the sense of doing work that other people didn't particularly want to do - I do a social sciences degree and on my first day was required to do some complex maths on Excel - without any previous training on the technicalities of Excel. I've also done a lot of admin work - arranging meetings, sorting out spreadsheets, etc, but in terms of actual useful work it has been lacking, and I haven't been unfortunately credited for the few things I have completed from start to finish myself.

Due to the lack of work in my office I felt like I was actually annoying my line manager by repeatedly asking for work. There is another intern nearby and we both ended up asking for more work at least once a day to everyone in our team. It usually ended with everyone saying they didn't have any work available and us sitting around all day talking amongst ourselves. Any work we were given was completed straight away and to the best of my ability, however there was not much support in actually finding the work. Although my line manager replied to emails very slowly (or sometimes not at all) I was given support/permission to do the few things I sourced myself.

I am a fast worker generally which didn't help matters, however I feel I could have completed all of my day's work within about an hour or two at a push. I have become an expert at working slowly and finding other things to do when no work was available. This seems to be a very common thing for Lloyds interns and I'm not sure whether it is because line managers are trying to be friendly by not giving us much work, or whether there is just no work at all for us to do in the first place. I heard that before managers are given an intern they are supposed to lay out a plan of what the intern will be doing over the course of the 10 weeks, so I'm not sure how this has played out as a lot of us have had very empty days.

There was one project I helped out with where I was given some responsibility, in that I was allowed to contact and speak to colleagues to help with the task on my own. Everything I did on that project was obviously checked over by a senior colleague which I respected, however general day to day responsibility was low. On a different project I was given more responsibility, but then when I made a simple mistake a senior colleague waited until a team call to complain about my mistake - which I had already emailed and apologised for as well as asking for some constructive help - an email that was never replied to.

There was an external colleague working on the same project as I was who I tried to arrange some work experience or shadowing with - which was never formalised despite my asking different team members for some guidance. This would have really benefited me for my degree but sadly did not happen. Aside this, the few tasks I was given which supported my degree were never given back to me with any feedback (which I also repeatedly asked for) which made them a waste of time.

The atmosphere was fairly good - there were a few other interns nearby so we all got to know each other well and was also helped by the fact that we all lived in the same accommodation. My other team members were all really friendly and because of the nature of the job, they were quite chatty and we had a laugh. The team I would have liked to have been in also sat behind, and although there was no shadowing opportunities because of the nature of the role, it was great to be able to observe them in their day to day work.

In contrast to previous years, the internship was fairly well organised this year. We found out our placements three weeks earlier than last year which gave me lots of time to get things organised. The accommodation was also arranged a lot earlier than last year and despite having more than a few problems at the accommodation, it was sorted easily. I was given a laptop and a work blackberry within a day of arriving which was definitely a help when it came to getting started.

We all had to complete mandatory training, and despite having some hilarious corporate comic strips, I am just about as good as picking up boxes as I was before the training. I can completely understand why it exists but I felt for scholars and interns it was a bit of a waste of time - as well as some parts being very obvious. In terms of other training or development I have really been left to my own devices within my department. All interns also take part in webinars which are basically useless and most definitely a waste of time, however this does also count as further development. These webinars covered ridiculous statements like "add work colleagues on LinkedIn but not on Facebook because it is too personal." and other corporate delights.

This is a tricky one because I knew I didn't want to work for the organisation anyway. The nature of my degree means that I most definitely want to follow on to that path, so I am definitely biased in the sense of not wanting to work for the bank. However, after a bad internship last year I was swayed completely against the company but I did consider that if this internship had been interesting and fulfilling then it could have been something I would have considered after graduation. Unfortunately I don't think the office life is for me and I don't particularly enjoy the banking culture either.

We all lived together in the accommodation provided by Lloyds which was fantastic. I've made a great group of friends who I will definitely be staying in touch with. A lot of interns are very work focused and keep themselves to themselves but there are also a fair few who enjoy going out at the weekends and exploring London and the surrounding areas. I've had a really busy 10 weeks and have spent time with other scholars nearly every day that I've been here, and that is the only element of the internship which I will miss when I'm back at university.

Obviously in central London you have to anticipate that things will be more expensive than in other areas of the UK but the price is relative - interns in London are paid London living allowance which is very generous considering our accommodation is fully paid for and our travel is capped at the same amount as interns all around the UK. General things like nights out, transport and food are more expensive but as students we are all used to being careful with our money anyway, and we are paid well enough to be able to enjoy the city without becoming penniless. The accommodation was one of the highlights of the internship for me, as this is the only time I will ever be able to enjoy living in central London for free.

Apologies for the cliché but London nightlife has something for everyone. It is more expensive than other cities but this is obviously because it is the capital. There are plenty of bars, clubs and restaurants, as well as other activities for interns who don't drink. I have been to jazz clubs, house nights, cocktails bars and other places since I've been here so it's very versatile and there's always something going on.

This really depended on who you surrounded yourself with. As previously mentioned, I made a great group of friends so we always found something to do in the evenings - whether it was going out for a meal, going to a few bars, exploring London's parks or just watching the Olympics together. We also had to take part in a Charity Challenge during the internship where we raised as much money as possible for Children In Need. This was really good as it gave us the chance to get to know other interns in different departments and offices - which wouldn't really happen without the Charity Challenge. There were also a lot of activities arranged through the challenge - a bar crawl, curry night, karaoke, paintballing or sponsored events.